A sustainable agricultural landscape requires both environmental assessment and collaboration

We live in an increasingly complex world, where resources are not always adequate and where we constantly face new challenges. This is a reality that both society and academia have to relate to. At SLU, we do this through our research and collaboration work as well as through our Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EMA) programmes such as Agricultural Landscape.

In light of the extreme heat and drought this past summer, agriculture – not the least the water issue – is a priority. In an increasingly urbanised world, it is easy to forget how dependent we are on functioning agricultural landscapes for the supply of food. Agriculture also shapes a landscape with unique preconditions for biodiversity and other ecosystem services.

But how do we manage “sustainable” agricultural landscapes, and what is a valid point of reference? The term “minimally impacted reference area” is often used in environmental conservation to evaluate environmental impact. Per definition, agriculture involves human impact and this gives rise to questions on how to calculate the pros and consin regards to sustainability. Which species should be favoured and which not? And how much can production be allowed to cost in terms of money, area used or greenhouse gas emissions?

Agricultural sustainability raises several political questions. There are, however, many facts to be used by those who seek a scientific basis for deliberations and decisions. Through EMA, SLU produces the kind of knowledge that is is used in collaboration with individual agricultural businesses, trade associations and government agencies.

EMA in the agricultural landscape has expanded over the past few years, something that we have highlighted in the latest issue of Miljötrender (in Swedish), Here, you can read about some aspects of our work tackling the challenges of the future.

SLU’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment – so much more than time series

I was startled to hear a new colleague, with a strong background in environmental assessment, apologetically say “I’m not working on SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment (fortlöpande miljöanalys) because I do not use time-series data”. He was under the impression that SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment dealt only with time-series data. Is that really so? What actually is SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment (EMA)?

A partial answer is that EMA is a mission unique to SLU among Sweden’s universities. SLU is the only university that has a mandate from the government to conduct EMA alongside the more customary university missions for research and education. This unique mandate contributes to SLU’s ability to define itself as a world-class leader in tackling the grand challenge of using the Earth’s resources in a sustainable way.

But what about my colleague’s concern? Time series certainly do contain critical clues about how the environment responds to human influences as well as natural dynamics. Such data are a valuable starting point for both EMA’s work to support policy-makers directly, and research that advances the fundamental process of understanding, which should also lead to better policies, but in a longer-term perspective. Data, interpreted with scientific expertise, are the basis for environmental assessment’s work to provide decision-support.

However, there are many kinds of useful data in addition to the time series generated by systematic, long-term monitoring programmes. Data can come from citizen science, remote sensing, medieval taxation records, and even meta-analysis of published data. All of these data types can be used by science to produce decision support as well as peer-reviewed science. There is no single type of data or expertise that is required to be classified as a part of SLU’s work with EMA. The key characteristic is high-quality decision support which contributes to society’s pursuit of long-term, sustainable access to ecosystem services.

And what about the “ongoing” (fortlöpande) in the Swedish name for EMA? This adjective emphasises how SLU’s EMA is timely, not that it is a time series. The basis for decisions on fishing quotas for the Baltic Sea next month, dealing with a drought, or knowing how to control an outbreak of fungi attacking the forest is urgent. Even the formulation of new legislation or rules requires quick responses to requests for decision support. Authorities and the public often expect answers within months, sometimes weeks. The demands for speed are also being increased when it comes to making environmental monitoring data available to the public.

During my three years in SLU’s leadership, I have gotten to know more about how many exciting fields of work there are at our university than I did during my previous three decades at SLU. I am particularly impressed by the widely shared sense that SLU is contributing to knowledge for a sustainable future in many different ways. There is a lot of this that I would like to classify as EMA, but the boundaries between this and research, education and especially collaboration with society are not self-evident. Such definitions are of secondary importance though, since we are all part of SLU. However, I hope that no colleagues feel excluded from being a part of SLU’s mission for EMA because they do not work with time series. The “ongoing” (fortlöpande) in the Swedish definition of SLU’s EMA stands for being timely – sort of like in this adaption of the Swedish king’s motto. ”Knowledge for sustainability – in time”.

An artistic interpretation of SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment. This emphasises how expeditiously SLU’s experts must work to deliver timely decision support concerning sustainable management of natural resources. Reproduced with the kind permission of the artist, Erik Walfridsson.

A recent visit to SLU’s Department of Ecology was filled with exciting presentations of excellent science. Researchers there are tackling challenging issues regarding the use and conservation of ecosystems, such as threats to pollinators, managing wolf populations, and intensified but sustainable plant production. In the middle of a discussion about field experiments, the value of environmental monitoring data was mentioned as a means for putting research results in a broader context that is more relevant for addressing society’s questions.

As leaders of the organization (SLU) that conducts more environmental monitoring assignments for the government than any other contractor, this was gratifying to hear. Environmental monitoring assignments are demanding, with tight schedules and strict requirements for quality, archiving and public availability of the data.

The benefit of SLU carrying out all these environmental monitoring missions, rather than a research institute or private enterprise, is that SLU provides added value for society in the form of scientifically-grounded decision support, while at the same time furthering SLU’s other goals for research, education and collaboration with society.

Through monitoring, SLU’s environmental analysts quantify the state of the environment. This provides timely, quantitative information for measuring society’s progress (or lack thereof) on specific environmental issues. Examples of how this helps us move towards a more stable bioeconomy include the conservation of endangered species and habitats as well as reducing the leakage of nutrients, pesticides and greenhouse gases from agriculture.

Such environmental analyses are complex and must weigh knowledge from many different fields. Environmental monitoring contributes with spatially and temporally representative data supported by cutting-edge statistical expertise. When environmental monitoring is performed in SLU’s academic environment, these data contribute to new knowledge about environmental impacts and sustainability aspects that can inform and complement closely related research. The data can also inspire research which is not so closely-related, but more innovative, even interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary.

The results of environmental monitoring are also used in SLU’s teaching to better equip students for tackling the environmental aspects of developing a more sustainable bioeconomy. Furthermore, research students (and researchers) who are in touch with both the environmental monitoring databases, as well as the issues that motivate the development of monitoring programs, get an excellent opportunity to find new scientific uses for these data.

These examples of added value can be summed up as a so-called win-win situation for society, science and SLU. That is why SLU strives to be a sought after partner in environmental monitoring missions.

The data created by SLU’s environmental monitoring are open for all to use. SLU researchers, environmental analysts and teachers, however, have a head start in using all of these data because so many are involved directly or have colleagues working with different aspects of the environmental monitoring. There are certainly even more opportunities waiting to be pursued!

During 2018 we will see how well we managed to use environmental monitoring for adding value from the perspectives of both SLU and society. Already by summer, the ongoing evaluation Quality and Innovation 2018, will highlight the factors that contribute to our research quality and the contribution of research to society. Later this fall, Åsa Romson reports her government sponsored investigation of Sweden’s environmental monitoring.

Then we will see if the highly encouraging indications about the enriching integration of environmental monitoring at the Department of ecology institution are representative of SLU as a whole!

Environmental monitoring and assessment in the service of a more sustainable future

This year, SLU’s Environmental monitoring and assessment celebrates 20 years as an official part of our university. A lot has happened during these years, and there is plenty more on the way! Earlier initiatives on new environmental monitoring techniques, such as e-DNA, are ongoing. This week, SLU hosted a metabarcoding workshop, and SLU’s Metabarcoding Laboratory has been established with support from the SLU Research Infrastructure Fund. We are looking forward to Skansen’s new permanent exhibition on the Baltic Sea which will open in 2018, and the new research vessel “Svea”, which will launch in 2019.

In 2018, SLU will put a focus on, following-up on the effects of environmental measures to see how effective they have been, non-toxic enviroment, data availability and citizen Science.

More sharing of data and knowledge is also a key part of SLU:s future. This is an important way to facilitate knowledge-based decisions to promote society’s environmental, social and economic sustainability in the spirit of Agenda 2030. SLU is getting a helpful push in this direction by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s assignment to develop smarter environmental information (Smartare miljöinformation), as well as through SLU’s involvement in the Swedish National Data Service. The latter is a national infrastructure that has just received support from the Swedish Research Council. SLU’s role here is to take responsibility for issues related to environmental data, and hopefully also even climate data. Our new Forest Data Lab, supported by Vinnova, is another way to get data working for a smarter and faster path towards the bio-based economy which is in Sweden’s national vision for a more sustainable future.

In order for this transformation – which is central to SLU’s mission – to become reality, as many people as possible in society need to be engaged in sustainability issues. For this reason, I am particularly pleased with SLU’s recent initiative to create a citizen science platform. The data that citizen science collects is of great value in its own right. This is demonstrated well by The Swedish Species Information Centre’s work with the Swedish Species Observation System (Artportalen). There are, however, many more dimensions to the positive role that citizen science can play in society. One key benefit is helping people outside the university world to get involved in scientific issues. This should help to avoid tendencies towards a ”post-truth society” and increase the social relevance of the higher education sector. Citizen science is also a great way for researchers to meet people in a mutual exchange of ideas and experience. SLU’s questions already involve many, but they can engage many, many more. And that is a very nice thought with which to approach the new year!

During the year, many have spoken out about how valuable the development resource for Environmental Monitoring and Assessment has been to facilitate SLU’s ability to contribute to decisions in key social issues related to sustainable development and a changing climate. Nationally, this resource is unique as it allows for renewal in the area, which is usually not possible with the tight budgets that authorities’ have for commissioning decision support studies and environmental monitoring.

Although SLU’s long-term goal is to attract ”new” money for this development resource, the university’s board of directors decided to allocate an additional ten million SEK to Environmental Monitoring and Assessment for 2018. This is a significant indication by the university that Environmental Monitoring and Assessment is an important part of SLU’s mission. The decision is also quite timely given that funding for the development resource from the national rural development program (2012-2016 approximately SEK 20m/year and 2017 SEK 10m) is winding down.

The ten million, together with another six million SEK of the 2018 funding framework mean that Environmental Monitoring and Assessment has a development resource for initiatives that complement the external assignments and formal commitments already funded by SLU’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

The FOMAR Council for Environmental Monitoring and Assessment will discuss proposals on how to allocate the development resource at its next meeting. In addition to several existing initiatives, the ambition is that about half of the funds will go through the faculties to the environmental assessment programs for projects prioritized through dialogue with the programs’ external reference groups.

I am looking forward to the continued development of Environmental Monitoring and Assessment at SLU in 2018. I also hope that more researchers and teachers at SLU, as well as at other universities, will discover the environmental monitoring data and assessment publications as valuable resources for research and education. One of the proposals for utilizing the development resource discussed by the FOMAR Council concerns improving access to data – something that supports the government’s initiative – Smartare miljöinformation (Smart environmental information).

SLU’s Environmental monitoring and assessment (EMA) has recently taken two big steps forward, but also been confronted with a major challenge. The University Management Group has approved the strategy-orientation document for EMA, as well as a set of three new job titles, specifically for those who work with environmental monitoring and assessment, together with a proficiency level “excellent environmental analyst”. All these now go to the Vice-Chancellor for approval.

Most likely, the personnel department will start early next year to review the titles for those working with environmental monitoring and assessment. A committee will also be set up by the Vice-Chancellor to adjudicate applications for the new proficiency level. Soon the colleagues that make SLU’s EMA happen will finally get job titles that say to the outside world (and ourselves) that it is environmental analysis that we work with. I am particularly pleased to have a proficiency level which clearly indicates what SLU expects of its best environmental analysts. (One of SLU’s other proficiency levels is “associate professor”).

The strategy-orientation document identifies what we as a university need to do to better meet society’s need for science-based decision making for a more sustainable future, both in Sweden and abroad. In particular, SLU:s 10 EMA programs, each built around a Swedish environmental objective, have an important role in creating interfaces between our researchers and the organizations that need their expertise, so that society can benefit more from SLU:s outstanding resources in terms of both personnel and environmental data. The strategy-orientation document will be a valuable guide for future work in developing SLU’s EMA. To perform as well as possible, these 10 coordinator-led programs need stable long-term financing.

The work to secure this long-term financing has, however, gotten off to a rather more abrupt start than I had hoped. My first visit to the Ministry of Industry to discuss environmental monitoring and assessment went very well. There was a positive atmosphere, constructive feedback and news that we would continue receiving funds from the Rural Development Programme in 2017. Then on the way out after the meeting through the lengthy complex of corridors at Stockholm’s old post-office building, one of our government liaison officers double checked with a colleague to confirm that it really would be 20 million crowns from the Rural Development Program in 2017 (which was the level of funding for each of the previous 5 years). The message came back that it would only be 10 million crowns, and none in 2018.

The news was as icy as the chilly winds that have been howling through the November darkness. But after a few days of reflection and encouraging meetings with both the Vice-Chancellor and the Council for Environmental monitoring and assessment (Fomar), I feel the clarity that comes after a participating in that interesting Nordic tradition of cutting a hole in the ice of a lake and then jumping in for a brief swim. The focus for the year ahead is crystal clear. We will work to let our partner organizations and government sponsors know exactly what they get for the 20 million crowns that the rural development program has been investing annually over the last five years, and how much more they could get for an additional 20 million kronor each year.

SLU has long wanted to replace the funds from the Rural Development Programme with an increase in the government funding directly to the university. So 2017 will be the year that SLU will present our best arguments for not only being entrusted to utilize 20 million crowns to develop environmental monitoring and assessment, but also increase that investment to 40 million crowns per year.

The extra funding which SLU got from the Energy and Climate Bill in 2009-2011, together with the extra funding that SLU has received through the Rural Development Program over the last five years (20 million per year) has been SLU’s own opportunity to develop environmental assessment and monitoring activities that otherwise is almost entirely built around externally funded projects. Our 10 environmental programs were created to increase the contact between SLU’s expertise and potential partners who need that expertise with the aim of initiating new, externally funded projects so that society gets more out of SLU. The recently completed, independent reviews of these programs have emphatically concluded that these programs are finely tuned, highly successful operations (with some opportunity for improvement). Furthermore, these programs could expand rapidly, for example with new programs based around arctic, mountain and wildlife issues, as well as an international commitment to the implementation of Agenda 2030.

I will lead a task force during the coming year to secure new funding to replace what has been coming from the Rural Development Programme. My working title of the operation is ”SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment – plusminus20”. The benefit of between 20 and 40 million crowns of funding for the development of SLU’s EMA should be made clear, as well as the consequences of not providing that funding.

We have a great organization! I, together with the task force, are looking forward to getting help from many of you in the campaign for increased state funding starting in 2018. In 2017, my goal is that with the help of the mythical ”accumulated capital” to keep the planned budget at the same level as if we had gotten the 20 million from the Rural Development Program that we had been expecting. We need to have our operation at full strength in 2017 to work for the future of environmental monitoring and assessment!

My view of what environmental monitoring and assessment is about

Sustainable use of biological natural resources is a multifaceted challenge requiring profound knowledge of ecosystem function. We must find ways to improve the use of natural resources while protecting ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water and recreation.

Environmental monitoring and assessment is central to the production and dissemination of this knowledge. SLU also has a unique mandate from the government to conduct Environmental monitoring and assessment.

But what is meant by environmental monitoring and assessment? Nearly 20 years after the government first gave SLU this mission, there is still no simple definition of what this is or isn’t. I interpret this as a sign that the capacities to pursue this mission are still developing at SLU.

To me there are three integral components, with the first being the provision of decision-support to government, enterprises and communities about sustainability. But there are other two elements. One is scientific expertise on ecosystems, the environment and biological natural resources. The second is data – vast amounts of data about our surroundings and how they are changing. These data enable us to, among other things, test the hypotheses on which decision-support is based. For example:

Have investments in nature reserves benefited endangered species?

Has silviculture improved Sweden’s greenhouse gas balance?

Have the measures adopted by farmers reduced leaching of pesticides and nutrients to the Baltic Sea?

So my view of environmental monitoring and assessment is a trinity formed by decision-support, expertise and data.

To illustrate this, I think about what I would say if ESS, the new super microscope being built in Lund, would apply to become part of SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment activities. I would ask three questions.

Will ESS have scientific expertise? Of course!

Will ESS to collect, store and make available data? Yes, in huge quantities!

Will this expertise and these data be used to generate timely decision-support for increased sustainability? Unclear.

Therefore ESS is not environmental monitoring and assessment. All three components of the trinity are needed. SLU expects timely decision-support products for an activity to qualify as environmental monitoring and assessment.

That is my definition of SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment for the time being. But that may change. I still have a lot to learn about SLU’s diverse array of activities in the field of environmental monitoring and assessment. Please contact me if you would like to discuss the development of these activities!